Grants Expand Student and Economic Development Services

Grants help Ashland Community and Technical College improve services and programs beyond what is possible through state funding and student tuition alone.

Government grants to ACTC can range from multi-million, multi-year grants for academic services to small grants for one-time events. Each grant makes a difference in the lives of some of our students, and some of those grants are listed below.

$275,200 in grants from the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education support the Boyd County Adult Education Program at ACTC. Services help adults learn the essential skills needed to function as workers, citizens and family members. Courses include basic reading and math skills, GED preparation, college preparation, and English-as-a-Second Language.

$50,000 in funding from the US Dept. of Agriculture supports continuation of the Entrepreneur Center. The Center provides local entrepreneurs with office space below the prevailing rent rate, internet access, administrative support, free or low cost training opportunities and consultation services.

With funding from the U. S. Department of Labor, ACTC is working with a group of KCTCS institutions to help students in technical programs. ACTC’s $145,000 grant supports a Success Coach, tutors and additional learning resources for the labs of the Welding, Industrial Maintenance, Electricity, and Computerized Manufacturing and Machining programs.

The Healthcare Professions Pathways project is in its third year at ACTC through a $799,830 grant funded through the U.S Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The goal is to help low-skilled adults better prepare for high-wage, high skill employment in health professions.

In year five of the nearly $2 million Title III grant, “Closing the Education Gap in Appalachian Kentucky,” ACTC continued the Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Peer Mentoring services that have been shown to increase student success. The 110 students in 2012-2013 SI sessions had better grades than non-participants, and 95% of students surveyed indicating that Peer Mentoring was beneficial to them.

Student Support Services is in the fourth year of a five-year grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education. The goal is to increase the college retention and graduation rates of first generation college students. Services for the 175+ students provided through this year’s nearly $270,000 budget include specialized academic advising, tutoring, career counseling, peer mentoring and study skills instruction.

ACTC received a $2500 grant from NASA to support STEM learning for area middle school students. The grant, part of a NASA initiative called “Summer of Innovation,” provided ten scholarships for participants in a fall “Introduction to Robotics” project.

The Kentucky Innovation Network program at ACTC worked with 25 knowledge-based, technology-driven, innovative businesses in 2013. This project that provides entrepreneurial, marketing, funding and networking assistance is supported by an $80,000 sub-agreement from the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation and Morehead State University.

ACTC’s Ready to Work (RTW) and Work and Learn (WAL) services are part of a $790,399 grant through a partnership between KCTCS and the KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Both programs provide counseling, advising, skills workshops and work experiences for low income FIVCO residents. RTW serves ACTC students, and WAL serves adults preparing for a GED and or college.

ACTC’s $10,000 Career Craze grant from the KY Lt. Governor’s office featured two camps for FIVCO area youth. The Health Care and “Engino” Building camps provided hands-on activities for thirty-three youth ages 10 to 15. The goal was to stimulate interest in fields that require education beyond high schools and that can provide good careers.

ACTC received an Accelerating Opportunity Grant to help unprepared students become college and career ready at the same time. Accelerating Opportunity is a community college initiative of Jobs for the Future, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates, Joyce W.K. Kellogg, Kresge and Open Society Foundations. The grant combines technical and basic skills training for students pursuing diesel, industrial maintenance, welding and health careers, and the training will start this month.

Federal Perkins funds of $297,075 help enhance technical education across the curriculum. These federal funds through the Kentucky Office of Career and Technical Education provide equipment, learning lab supplies and curriculum materials for technical programs

A $3,500 grant from the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education targeted “near completers” or students who had earned 45 or more credit hours toward a degree. The project focused on re-enrolling and reducing completion barriers for 50 students who needed 15 or fewer credit hours to finish their degree.